STORE and TurboSTORE/iX Products Manual (B5151-90003)

Chapter 2 29
Managing Backups and Backup Media
What Should You Backup?
What Should You Backup?
To completely back up your system, you should copy three types of information:
• User and system files. User files are usually the largest part of a system backup. They
cannot otherwise be duplicated, except from hardcopy. Since, in total, they can be the
product of several months or even years of labor, user files can be considered the most
important element within your computer system. All system files are in groups within
the SYS account; most system files are owned by the PUB group of the SYS account.
• The file system directory. The file system directory contains your account, group, and
user structure, plus all associated capabilities. Each volume set has its own directory
that must be saved to provide a complete backup.
• The current system configuration. The system configuration includes system tables,
queues, device I/O attachments, and other parameters.
The various types of data are backed up using different mechanisms:
• System configuration information is backed up on a system load tape (SLT).
• User and system files, and the file system directory are backed up on STORE media,
which can include tape, DDS, or disk.
Backing up system configuration files separately from other files is to your advantage
because user, system, and system directory files usually change often while system
configuration files change infrequently. Also, with the capability of backing up each type of
file separately, you can avoid backing up any inadvertent corruption of system files while
still backing up your other files.
Use the SYSGEN program to create a system load backup to supplement a STORE
backup. The SYSGEN program enables you to back up the system configuration. You
cannot back up operating system and configuration files with the STORE program. When
you use STORE to perform system backups, you must still use the SYSGEN program to
create a system load tape from which you can reload your system configuration.
To put SLT and store filesets on a single tape, you can use the combined SLT and Storeset
functionality. Refer to Chapter 10, "Backing Up the System Configuration," for details of
using the SYSGEN utility and combining an SLT and Store set.